


out there

by Oparu (USSJellyfish)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Lost in the Woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27579002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/USSJellyfish/pseuds/Oparu
Summary: Melinda and Phil's quinjet goes down in the snowy woods and there's something out there.
Relationships: Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Comments: 12
Kudos: 55
Collections: Spooky creations from Philindatober





	out there

**Author's Note:**

> written for Philindatober, and posted late because life...

"What happened?"

Phil brushes her hair off her forehead, using a scrap of cloth to wipe something sticky from her cheek. "Quinjet went down, I think you saved us."

"I don't remember." She must have been flying, but she has no memory of the crash, even where they were headed. 

"You good to sit up?"

She nods. He must have pulled her out of the pilot's chair because she's lying on the floor of the quinjet, what's left of it. 

He cradles the back of her head, helping her up. "You did good."

"Thanks." 

Phil checks her eyes, and the back of her neck. "You sure you're okay?"

"Bruises, and a nasty headache, but I'm all right. You?"

"Black and blue but I'll live." He gets to his feet, looking around. "Where are we?"

"I don't know, I don't even remember where we were going." Melinda checks the overhead compartments, which are down by her knees because of how the plane rolled. There's got to be an emergency pack or two in here. Rations, a first aid kit-- She shivers.

"Hey." Phil 

"I'm fine, I think I'm just cold."

"It is cold." He rubs his hands together, looking around the quinjet. "We were flying over Canada."

"It's big, and empty." She sighs and pulls out the emergency blanket from the side of the plane. "Did we get shot down? Mechanical failure?"

"The latter, I think."

"You think?"

"I know what getting shot at is like, mechanical is more your department."

She shuts her eyes, but her memory is hazy. Her head pounds.. "The last thing I remember is getting on the plane with you."

"You said we were passing over Lake Michigan." 

"Then we're in Ontario, most likely. Maybe Minnesota or Wisconsin. Do you know how long you were asleep?"

Phil shakes his head. "No, I didn't mean to fall asleep." 

"So we don't know where we are. The plane is in rough shape, no electrical. We've got to get the emergency beacon running so our team can find us." 

Her temple stings, and something hot runs into her eyebrow. Melinda reaches up, and Phil grabs her hand.

"You're bleeding again."

"Dammit."

"Hang on."

:"It's fine."

"Hang on, May, you're bleeding. Hold still."

"Phil--"

He rips part of his undershirt, and holds it against her head. "Maybe you should sit." 

"It doesn't hurt." 

"If you get blood in your eye, you won't be able to see, just hold still for a moment, okay?"

She rolls her eyes, but tries to keep still. Phil holds his hand to her head, pressing down enough that it stings. Melinda hisses and he winces for her. 

"Sorry."

"It's all right." 

"It's slowing down, I think. Must have smacked your head pretty good on the cockpit." His little smile almost makes up for the pounding in her head. "Explains the cracks in the glass."

"Very funny." 

"You have a hard head."

"It's kept me alive."

"Okay, I think it's stopped, just be careful."

She tuts and he pats her shoulder. 

"If you pass out I'll be all alone." 

"And lost in the woods." She smiles but shivers again, arms over her chest. "We won't get anywhere in the snow at night. We'll have to wait."

He touches her arms, then runs his hands up and down. His hands are warm and she takes a step closer, needing the heat. They've got two emergency blankets, and they'll stay warmer if they conserve body heat. They'll be fine, they're adults. 

"Come here."

May doesn't even protest. She smiles a little and lets him wrap his arms around her. They sit down together, wrapped in silver emergency blankets. 

"Do you think you have a concussion?" he asks when she gets quiet. She sits curled up against his chest, her head on his shoulder. Her head injury makes everything smell a little like blood, but he's warm and her head doesn't pound quite as much against his chest. 

"My vision's not blurry."

"So I don't need to keep you awake?"

She chuckles, turning her head a little closer. "I don't think so." 

He rests his cheek against her head, shifting a little to get more comfortable. His breathing slows, and she could almost fall asleep. 

Something yowls in the woods, screaming into the night, unearthly. She jolts awake. Was she dreaming? Was that some kind of nightmare?

"Did you hear that?" 

"We're not dreaming?"

Melinda gets to her feet, Phil just behind her. 

"Something's out there."

"I was hoping I was just hallucinating."

Phil grabs his icer, checking the magazine. "You said you didn't have a concussion." 

"I'd rather I did." 

Whatever it is howls again outside the downed quinjet. Phil takes a step closer to her and she tightens her grip on the ICER. Something scratches, then thuds above them, running over the roof. 

"Can you see anything?"

Melinda shakes her head. Except for the red emergency lights, it's almost pitch black. There aren't even stars outside, perhaps the trees have blocked them out. 

"What do we do?"

"Maybe it can't get in here."

"A broken plane really isn't that sturdy."

"Is it a bear?" he whispers and she gives him a look. "What?"

"A bear doesn't howl."

"How do you know? What do you know about bears?"

"They don't howl, Phil."

The creature scratches across the roof, then it screeches down the windscreen, claws against glass. Melinda tenses, Phil steps closer, then turns, standing back to back with her, just in case it gets in. 

"Do you think it can smell us?"

"In this cold?"

Whatever it is scratches past the left side of the plane, then again, as if it is testing the side for weaknesses. 

"Maybe it can hear us," she whispers, and he nods. They can communicate without speaking, they've always been good at that. They stand back to back and in the silence, they can hear something crunching in the snow, then it's quiet again. 

They stand until they start to get stiff, then Phil touches her shoulder. They need to keep warm, conserve energy. 

He rubs her shoulder. "We'll wake up if it comes back." 

":Seems hard to sleep through."

"Sit, get warm." He opens his arms and she sits down between his legs. With the blankets wrapped around them it's not that cold. Uncomfortable, awkward, but Phil's warm behind her.

She drifts off for a while, not meaning too. When the creature returns in the darkness, they stay down, wrapped around each other. Their guns are close, and they have each other if it gets in, 

It howls and screams into the night, scratching and scrabbling over the plane. 

"It's not a bear," Phil whispers. "Bears don't climb like that, and we didn't really have any that big."

"We're not in Wisconsin," she reminds him without opening her eyes. 

"There aren't big bears like that."

"Cougar?"

"You're not older than me."

Melinda elbows him. "Very funny, but I wasn't talking about me."

"I have no idea what it is. It might be a werewolf."

"I can't remember if the moon was full."

He rests his chin on her shoulder. "It was bright when we got into the quinjet."

"Moon bright or the sun was still up?"

"The moon was bright."

Melinda yawns, shifts a little to get less stiff, and then Phil leans back against the bench and it's reasonably comfortable. 

"Werewolves would be new."

"Hopefully it's just one."

"Hopefully I just hit my head really hard." 

Phil strokes her hair, then pulls his arm back under the blanket.. "You said it wasn't a concussion."

"I don't think it is, I'm not seeing anything weird. Maybe It's just a fever dream."

"You don't have a fever."

"Well, I wouldn't in the dream." 

"Oh I see." His mouth is right against her cheek, "Next time dream up something better than us stuck in the woods, freezing while a horrible monster chases us."

"I thought you were done with tropical islands."

"I've never actually been to one."

"Ahhh. So it's not your dream, you'd bring us to a beautiful island."

"Would be nice, wouldn't it?" Phil yawns, moving his arms so they rest on her stomach. "'Try to get some more sleep, it's not dawn yet." 

She curls into his chest, trying to ignore the potential monster outside, the way her body aches from the cold and the pounding of her head. If she closes her eyes, and just listens to his breathing, Melinda can tell herself they'll be fine. 

They always are. 


End file.
